City residents pack special City Council meeting to talk about Occupy Oakland

By Scott JohnsonOakland Tribune

Posted:
11/03/2011 03:29:53 PM PDT

Updated:
11/04/2011 06:39:01 AM PDT

Click photo to enlarge

Oakland Police Officers remove Elon Ullman ,22, from the podium in council chambers during a special meeting of the city council on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011 in Oakland, Calif. The meeting was called by councilmember Nancy Nadel to discuss Occupy camp at Fank H. Ogawa Plaza.
(Aric Crabb/Staff)

OAKLAND -- Residents packed a special City Council meeting to talk about Occupy Oakland on Thursday night, with many expressing support for the cause and others decrying business losses and a negative image arising from the violence that has accompanied the protest movement.

"The business community is outraged," said Joseph Haraburda, president of Oakland's Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. He said the camp should be shut down immediately. "This is our first salvo," he said, "but we are not ruling out other action."

Haraburda cited three business deals that he said have fallen through as a result of the camp and the incidents of violence that have marred the movement. They included the cancellation of two office space leases -- one for 35,000 square feet and another for 15,000 feet -- as well as the move to the city of a 100-employee company. Haraburda said the loss in revenue was in the millions of dollars.

Dozens of speakers took to the podium to express their views about two weeks of steady protest activity that has included repeated clashes between protesters and police, a pending police investigation into alleged police misconduct and, most recently, a massive strike that resulted in the closure of the Port of Oakland. The city has said it has spent upward of $1 million in costs related to the violence that has resulted from the police actions, vandalism and the cleanup of the dismantled camp.

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One woman, a mother of two who held her baby in her arms as she spoke, said the city needed to lend its support without hesitation to the camp and to the movement.

"The million dollars could have moved every person in that occupation into a studio apartment," she said to loud applause. "You cannot beat us into submission. When the flood comes, I hope you will have found yourself some paddles or gotten out of the way."

Even before the meeting began, tensions were already running high. "I want the tents out," said Phillip Johnson, 49, a lifelong Oakland resident and truck driver who attended the meeting to voice his discontent. "I'm concerned about the image of the city. They should shut them down tomorrow."

The vast majority of the speakers, however, expressed overwhelming support for the movement and pleaded with the community to allow the protesters to maintain their camp.

Councilwoman Desley Brooks (Eastmont-Seminary), said the city needed to address the Occupy movement for a variety of reasons. It was costing an already cash-strapped city at least $1 million; the city's international reputation was at stake; and everyone, supporters and opponents alike, deserved a chance to have their say.

"It's not just what the occupiers want and what the city wants, there's a whole city impacted by this," Brooks said. "I'm grappling with the issues and will try and make an informed decision after tonight."

One speaker, Adam Gold, said that Oakland was a city of the 99 percent, and should support the movement by helping to promote the causes it champions.

"Occupy Oakland has been a public forum on public land on issues important to the public," he said. "The city government should work proactively with the camp. They should open its doors to the encampment, a city government of the 99 percent should take inspiration from the encampment and work toward affordable housing and health care."

But Jose Duenes, the CEO of the Alameda County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than 18,000 local businesses, said the occupy movement has stalled activity. "We've got no events planned, people are pulling back," he said. "We've got people who are looking at leaving and we don't blame them."